The decision on whether to move forward with criminal charges against Councilwoman Alicia Hughes (I) for reasons related to her eligibility for public office remains pending, according to Commonwealths Attorney Randy Sengel.

His office is currently performing an inquiry to decide whether to bring charges against Hughes, who residents and their attorney alleged may have provided false statements relating to her residency before being elected.

Meanwhile, J. Gerald Hebert, the attorney hired by three residents last month to question Hughes residency and public office eligibility in the city, said his clients will not appeal the ruling by the voting registrar that deemed Hughes an eligible voter at the time of the trial last month.

But Hebert said he is still pursuing the prospect of criminal charges against Hughes with Sengel, the citys prosecutor. Hebert wrote a letter to Sengel last week reiterating his case, which claims that Hughes may not have been a resident of Alexandria when she filed for her candidacy, based in part on Maryland taxation records that listed a Baltimore home as her primary residence.

The records now indicate that her Baltimore property, seemingly abandoned, is not her principal residence.

Sengel has not given a timeline on when he expects to make a decision.

Hughes was sworn in as a city councilwoman July 1.